Steering-gear for vehicles.



No. 634,5l4. Patented Oct. I0, 1399,

H. GQUNDERWDUD.

STEERING GEAR FOR VEHICLES.

(Application filed. Rev. 4, 189B.) (No Model.) v 2 Sheais,Sheet I.

MIKE/V7395 I WITNESSES:

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UNITED STATES.

PATENT OFFICE.

HERBERT GEORGE UNDERVOOD, OF NEW YORK, N Y ASSIGNOR OF ONE- HALF TO WALTER PLATT HATCH, OF SAME PLACE.

STEERING-GEAR FOR VEHICLES.

SPECIFICATIOR forming part of Letters Patent No. 634,514, dated October 10, 1899. Application filed November 4, 1898. Serial No. 695,453. (No model.)

To all whom it'mtty concern:

Be-it known that I, HERBERT GEORGE UN- DERWOOD, a oitizen'of the United States, residing at the borough of Brooklyn, in the city of New York, county and State of New York, have invented certain new and useful Im provements in Steering-Gear for Vehicles;

and I do declare the following to be afull, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same, reference being-had to the accompany ing drawings, and'to the letters of reference marked thereon, which form a part of this specification.

. My invention relates to improvements in a steering-gear for vehicles and to be applied in particular to motor-vehicles, the chief drawings, in which-- Figure 1 is a plan view of a wagon-frame with the bottom removed. Fig. 2 is a longitudinal sectional view on line 2 2 of Fig. 1. Fig. 3 is a horizontal section of the line 3 3 of of Fig. 2. Fig. 4 is a detail section of the line 4 4 of Fig. 3. Fig. 5 is a detail view of the divided axle-bars having the toothed segment of the steering-gear and the eye to receive stud G. Fig. 6 is a detail plan View of a modication, showing the means of operating the mechanism by the aid of a lever. detail side elevation of the modification shown in Fig. 6 and showing the operating-lever also in elevation.

Similar letters refer to similar parts throughout the several views.

In the drawings, A is the frame of the wagon, to the rear of which is attached the axle S by suitable means. Any suitable spring may be affixed between the axle and the wagon-frame for the purpose of taking up shock. To the front portion of the wagon, on the under side of the frame A, is attached the a I ing cross-bars I I, havmg aifixed between Fig. 7 is a ear-frame A, to which are attached supportthem the cross-bar J. To thiscross-barJ are affixed the guide-bars I I, in which the toothed segments f and d of the axle-bars D and F swing and by which they are held in line.

H is aspur-wheel which rests upon the bar J and the teeth of which mesh with thespurs of the segments d andfof thejax'le-bars D and F. The spur-wheel H is provided with asuitable shoulder having a recess h and setscrew to receive the end of shaft 71/. Theaxlebars D and F near the outer ends are provided with disks which have eyes to receive ,the studs E and G, by means'of which the same are held in place to the wagon-frame. On the outer ends of axle-bars D and F is provided the journal g, as shown in Fig. 5,

'for the wheels B and C. At the rear end of the segments 01 and f isprovided an eye to receive the rods L' and K, which are bolted 7o loosely to the segments (1 and f. In the rear end of the rods are provided the nuts Z and Z and it and is.

Z and k are tension-springs.

M N are angle-levers with eyes at one end, 7 5 into which the end of the rod L is passed, and which are held together by the nuts 75' and l. The lever is attached to the wagon-frame by means of the brackets 97. n.

m and n are lever-arms which are pro-- .vided at one end. with forked cylindrical extremities and having studs P, which are intended to fit into the recess of the sliding clutches Q and R. The clutches are provided with recesses to fit over the key 3 of the axle 8 5 S, the beveled end of the clutches Q and B being intended to fit into the beveled end of the hub T, as shown inFig. 4.

T is the hub of a wheel.

tis the journal of the axle S,-and t is-the o wheel-retaining nut.

Fig. 6 shows a modification in which the shaft it is dispensed with and the steeringgear is operated by a lever suitably affixed, the lower end of'which engages with theslot 5 o in the axle-bar D.

In Fig. 7,? is'a lever, the lower end of which is intended to fit in-the slot v of the axle-bars D and is pivotally affixed to a stanchion W, aifixed to the vehicle.

Whenthe parts are assembled as shown, the operation ofthe same is as follows: To

turn to the right, the axle-bar D is turned in that direction by turning the shaft h to the left. The toothed pinion engaging with the segment part of the axle-bar D turns the right wheel under the Wagon, while the left wheel is turned toward the front of the wagon, so that both Wheels run in the same line and at the same angle to accelerate the quick and positive turning of the vehicle. The rods K and L are caused to operate upon the clutches affixed to the rear axle S. In the case as shown in Fig. 3, in which the vehicle is turning to the right, the segment (Z of the axlebar D being thrown forward draws the lever end forward and releases the clutch R from its socket in the hub U, while the segment f of the axle-bar F being thrown backward forces the spring Z against the lever-arm N, which in turn forces the forked lever outward, thus causing the clutch Q to be forced into the socket of the hub T, holding the same almost rigid, thus enabling the vehicle to have a pivotal motion on wheel 13, while the wheel 0' swings around loosely. The springs 75* and Z are provided to set the clutches, and are also in tended to release the clutches from the hubs when turning. It is obvious that the steering-gear will operate fully and satisfactorily without the aid of the rods and clutches.

Having described my invention, what I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is

1. In a vehicle steering-gear, the combination with the pivoted bars having wheels mounted on their outer ends and toothed segments at their inner ends, of the supportin g-frame therefor including the cross-bar J and the upper and lower bars I I between which the toothed segments are guided, the spur-wheel I-I mounted in the cross-bar J and meshing with the said segments, the shaft S having wheels mounted loosely thereon, clutches Q and R splined on said shaft, and connections with the said segments for operating the clutches.

2. In a vehicle steering-gear, the combination with the pivoted bars having wheels mounted on their outer ends and toothed segments at their inner ends, of the supporting-frame therefor including the cross-bar J and the upper and lower bars I I between which the toothed segments are guided, the spur-wheel H mounted in the cross-bar J and meshing with the said segments, the shaft S having wheels mounted loosely thereon, clutches Q and R splined on said shaft, levers M N having arms for operating the clutches, the rods K L passing through the other arms of the levers and connected with the segments, stops or abutments 7137i Z Z on the rods K L, and springs located between the inner stops andthe ends of the levers.

In testimony whereof I affix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

HERBERT GEORGE UNDERWOOD.

Witnesses:

CHARLES BEoKMAN, EMIL L. NEWMAN. 

